You’re gonna have a blast! I did all that stuff with a completely stock FJ62. You’re with an experienced group which is nice. DV is one of my favorite places. Been there many times.
Headed to Death Valley for first time. Any words of advice? (1 Viewer)
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lcolon
SILVER Star
I have done that run multiple times. It is an awesome trip. Things to remember in death valley:
1. Gas up to full in Ridgecrest - the last time I went through Trona the gas station had no fuel.
2. Everything in death valley feels like 50mi of distance. Back to #1 make sure you have gas
3. There is no cell service. I would have a 2M Ham Radio AT LEAST if not a SAT Phone for comms. On 2M you might be able to hit the repeater in Ridgecrest or the one in Pahrump NV in an emergency. It helps you are going with other vehicles.
4. The most technical of parts of those trails will be:
a. Gohler Wash initial rock hill when just entering the canyon - if the spring is running over the rocks it can be very slick. If the rocks are wet you are going to have to try a speed run to get over it. Otherwise a locker is your friend. A fairly small obstacle in the rock crawling world but can be challenging depending on conditions.
b. Decent from Mengles pass - there is a huge bolder on your left. Watch your tire placement as you can tip to the left and "kiss" that rock with your fender (ask me how I know)
c. Racetrack road usually has a lot of washboard and will tempt you to drive fast. I have punctured tires out there along with many others. Have a plug kit, air compressor, and watch the sharp rocks protruding. (this is with fairly new BFG AT 33)
d. Lippencot is a steep narrow shelf road but very doable. Biggest risk here is encountering someone coming down while you are going up out from the racetrack. There is no where to turn around. Great ride
e. Titus canyon is one of the most enjoyable drives in the valley. You may not even need 4wd but it is so worth it and good itinerary item
5. Gas is available in furnace creek. Fill up at every opportunity. If you are headed to the racetrack, I would divert to stovepipe wells and top up there before headed out. That is the cheapest place in the valley itself to get fuel. Furnace creek is relatively expensive.
6. Get these books and carry them with you:
a. Death Valley SUV Trails - Roger Mitchell
b. Backcountry Adventures - Southern California - Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson
c. Several Maps - we practice map, compass, and mile tracking on our trips
Bring water, lots of it. I carry 3 of those blue 7 gallon containers. 1 is for the cruiser in case she needs a radiator fill. The others are for the passengers on the trip. Have some rescue tape in case you burst a coolant hose. Enjoy some of the little side roads that you see. It is a fantastic run and I can't wait to do it myself again.
Enjoy!!!!
Luis
1. Gas up to full in Ridgecrest - the last time I went through Trona the gas station had no fuel.
2. Everything in death valley feels like 50mi of distance. Back to #1 make sure you have gas
3. There is no cell service. I would have a 2M Ham Radio AT LEAST if not a SAT Phone for comms. On 2M you might be able to hit the repeater in Ridgecrest or the one in Pahrump NV in an emergency. It helps you are going with other vehicles.
4. The most technical of parts of those trails will be:
a. Gohler Wash initial rock hill when just entering the canyon - if the spring is running over the rocks it can be very slick. If the rocks are wet you are going to have to try a speed run to get over it. Otherwise a locker is your friend. A fairly small obstacle in the rock crawling world but can be challenging depending on conditions.
b. Decent from Mengles pass - there is a huge bolder on your left. Watch your tire placement as you can tip to the left and "kiss" that rock with your fender (ask me how I know)
c. Racetrack road usually has a lot of washboard and will tempt you to drive fast. I have punctured tires out there along with many others. Have a plug kit, air compressor, and watch the sharp rocks protruding. (this is with fairly new BFG AT 33)
d. Lippencot is a steep narrow shelf road but very doable. Biggest risk here is encountering someone coming down while you are going up out from the racetrack. There is no where to turn around. Great ride
e. Titus canyon is one of the most enjoyable drives in the valley. You may not even need 4wd but it is so worth it and good itinerary item
5. Gas is available in furnace creek. Fill up at every opportunity. If you are headed to the racetrack, I would divert to stovepipe wells and top up there before headed out. That is the cheapest place in the valley itself to get fuel. Furnace creek is relatively expensive.
6. Get these books and carry them with you:
a. Death Valley SUV Trails - Roger Mitchell
b. Backcountry Adventures - Southern California - Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson
c. Several Maps - we practice map, compass, and mile tracking on our trips
Bring water, lots of it. I carry 3 of those blue 7 gallon containers. 1 is for the cruiser in case she needs a radiator fill. The others are for the passengers on the trip. Have some rescue tape in case you burst a coolant hose. Enjoy some of the little side roads that you see. It is a fantastic run and I can't wait to do it myself again.
Enjoy!!!!
Luis
Am I correct in that its only 140 miles of trail? Why all the sweating?
Been going to DV for years. Two spares are a must if alone or the other vehicles are have different rims. If you are with similar vehicles make sure you can swap tires to and from vehicles. If not, but a wheel spacer so you can give / receive similar type tires. I carry a wheel spacer so I can accept the deep dish 80 series rims in a pinch.
Saline Valley (specifically steel pass area) was used by natives to gather obsidian from the open pit mine out there. They would then knap the obsidian all over the valley. So there are literally millions of shards of obsidian glass near steel pass. There is less obsidian on the roads from lippencott in and south/north pass.
Make sure your caliper bolts are tight. The washboard roads will shake them loose if the cast knuckle threads are buggered. I finally got fed up and drilled holes in the heads of the caliper bolts and I run lockwire through them so they cannot escape when vibrating down the washboards.
The washboard roads require airing down as mentioned above. The slower you go the less problems you'll have. I do the opposite and bomb in on friday nights through south pass to the springs.
I've seen 37" tires slashed open by the large gravel, loosened my starter bolts, had front caliper bolts come out on my passenger side, smashed my transmission pan on a rock that got pivoted in the sand and broke a tack weld loose on the skid, etc.
Bring enough spare fluids as a group to tackle any major problem, spare caliper bolts, 5 gal of water, etc.
Saline Valley (specifically steel pass area) was used by natives to gather obsidian from the open pit mine out there. They would then knap the obsidian all over the valley. So there are literally millions of shards of obsidian glass near steel pass. There is less obsidian on the roads from lippencott in and south/north pass.
Make sure your caliper bolts are tight. The washboard roads will shake them loose if the cast knuckle threads are buggered. I finally got fed up and drilled holes in the heads of the caliper bolts and I run lockwire through them so they cannot escape when vibrating down the washboards.
The washboard roads require airing down as mentioned above. The slower you go the less problems you'll have. I do the opposite and bomb in on friday nights through south pass to the springs.
I've seen 37" tires slashed open by the large gravel, loosened my starter bolts, had front caliper bolts come out on my passenger side, smashed my transmission pan on a rock that got pivoted in the sand and broke a tack weld loose on the skid, etc.
Bring enough spare fluids as a group to tackle any major problem, spare caliper bolts, 5 gal of water, etc.
^^This....
Check for loose bolts, connections, and clamps before, during and after DV...
Amazing the stuff that comes loose on trips to this area....
Be careful when aired down as the sidewalls can be more vulnerable to rocks. Fine if just sand. Only go down as much as you need if hard and rocky. About 15 for sand is right.
So take a pump or compressed air cylinder or check if someone has onboard air compressor fitted
So take a pump or compressed air cylinder or check if someone has onboard air compressor fitted
I prefer 8 in soft sand. My 60 for dirt roads I run 12. With beadlocks, run lower (you don't have beadlocks). 15 psi is a good, safe air down stop and will make the ride a heck of a lot nicer. But just amke sure you can air up afterwards. Otherwise you'll chew up the tires on the pavement.
FJ60Seth
SILVER Star
Don't be scared off by Randy. He's fearless and likes Type 2 Fun. Spend a couple of hours checking your rig: ubolts, caliper bolts, exhaust, tcase linkage, clutch slave cylinder, fluids. Make sure your engined is running well, tuned and good air filter. Put the skid plate on tight. Drive slow and you'll be fine.
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Randy is our poster child for DV!
I just came back from Saline a couple of weeks ago. Broke a shock mount on the washboard.
Anything you've unbolted in the last five years...recheck it.
And don't let anyone pressure you into driving faster than YOU are comfortable with. You're going to be carrying a lot more weight than your used to, and your vehicle is going to handle differently.
Your itinerary is ambitious, drive-by tourism ala 21st century. Deadlines often lead to poor judgement calls. Ask your friends to consider a plan b, or even a plan c, should weather prove challenging, or a unique opportunity present itself.
There is a difference between a marathon and an adventure. Then again, I know some people that go looking for trouble.
Best
Mark
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- #32
Thanks for all the advice! It was a successful trip - I read and reread all of these comments and made sure to inspect what I could before heading out last Wednesday. I brought tons of water and food, and lots of tools.
The only mishap was an alternator that decided to crap out on me. Up to this point the truck was great. Kept up with the built JeepRubicon , and the Raptor that was leading the group, as well as my brother's 100 series. We got it jump started and I was able to drive a few miles to the nearest town (Beatty, NV) where I got a hotel room for my brother and his friend, who stayed back to assist me while the others went off to set up camp at Titus Canyon. The lack of daylight hours is really noticeable this time of year!
While eating a Frito Pie at Happy Burro Chili and Beer, the three of us looked up options for alternators (nobody within 100 miles had them, or could get them)...so a few hours later started looking for options to get me towed home. AAA could only get me towed through Vegas, for a total of 385 miles. I have 200 free miles through AAA...but those last 185 miles would have been at $10/mile. Ouch!
I posted here about the situation and @2mountainfish chimed in and said he had an alternator I could use to get home, so I rerouted to have AAA take me to his place instead. Very very nice of him. He also told me about tapping on the alternator while running, to see if that fixed it. The next morning at about 6am, while I was waiting for a tow truck I tried the tapping trick...and sure enough, the volt meter jumped from 8 (bottom of gauge) up to ~13, which was good enough to get me all 270 miles back to LA. It was a close call, and as usual I'm humbled and am indebted to this site.
Alternator post with some photos from the trip below.
Real time help needed. Alternator for FJ60
The only mishap was an alternator that decided to crap out on me. Up to this point the truck was great. Kept up with the built JeepRubicon , and the Raptor that was leading the group, as well as my brother's 100 series. We got it jump started and I was able to drive a few miles to the nearest town (Beatty, NV) where I got a hotel room for my brother and his friend, who stayed back to assist me while the others went off to set up camp at Titus Canyon. The lack of daylight hours is really noticeable this time of year!
While eating a Frito Pie at Happy Burro Chili and Beer, the three of us looked up options for alternators (nobody within 100 miles had them, or could get them)...so a few hours later started looking for options to get me towed home. AAA could only get me towed through Vegas, for a total of 385 miles. I have 200 free miles through AAA...but those last 185 miles would have been at $10/mile. Ouch!
I posted here about the situation and @2mountainfish chimed in and said he had an alternator I could use to get home, so I rerouted to have AAA take me to his place instead. Very very nice of him. He also told me about tapping on the alternator while running, to see if that fixed it. The next morning at about 6am, while I was waiting for a tow truck I tried the tapping trick...and sure enough, the volt meter jumped from 8 (bottom of gauge) up to ~13, which was good enough to get me all 270 miles back to LA. It was a close call, and as usual I'm humbled and am indebted to this site.
Alternator post with some photos from the trip below.
Real time help needed. Alternator for FJ60
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- Joined
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- www.marksoffroad.net
Alternator Flashback. Long before @Texican pegged me as a go-to guy...
One of my buds 40s literally broke down at my house as we were leaving for Rubithon 1993. With no time to start diagnostics on his unproven rig, we just threw his stuff on top of mine in Ruftoys and took off. Fried my alternator coming in to Fresno. We had stopped at Wendell's 76, because it was freeway close and Wendell was a well known cruiserhead in the area.
As my buddy starts into a hysterical monologue on how impossible it's going to be to find an import alternator in the middle of redneck country, I casually reach back behind his seat and start rummaging. When he finishes, I pull out an alternator and say "Should we use this used one or (reaching back again) this rebuilt one?"
The look on his face was priceless.
One of my buds 40s literally broke down at my house as we were leaving for Rubithon 1993. With no time to start diagnostics on his unproven rig, we just threw his stuff on top of mine in Ruftoys and took off. Fried my alternator coming in to Fresno. We had stopped at Wendell's 76, because it was freeway close and Wendell was a well known cruiserhead in the area.
As my buddy starts into a hysterical monologue on how impossible it's going to be to find an import alternator in the middle of redneck country, I casually reach back behind his seat and start rummaging. When he finishes, I pull out an alternator and say "Should we use this used one or (reaching back again) this rebuilt one?"
The look on his face was priceless.
Last edited:
lcolon
SILVER Star
Glad you had a mostly good trip out. This is why preparedness is important in DV. I have wheeled there as a solo vehicle most of the time when I was out there.
I once broke my front diff in South Park Canyon (really screwed up my trip). For those that don't know, that is a trail right out of Ballarat - we had gone up Pleasant Canyon to the top placard - approx 7,000 feet of altitude, and swung around back down South Park Canyon (most people drive up south park not down). The diff let go when the cruiser dropped off a little ledge, the pin in the diff sheared, locked up the front wheels, and turned the front drive shaft into a pretzel in rather dramatic fashion. Was able to unlock the front hubs and keep going forward. Negotiated "chicken rock" with no 4wd and luckily made it out of there.
Was sweating bullets but drove away that time... could have been a much worse situation.
I once broke my front diff in South Park Canyon (really screwed up my trip). For those that don't know, that is a trail right out of Ballarat - we had gone up Pleasant Canyon to the top placard - approx 7,000 feet of altitude, and swung around back down South Park Canyon (most people drive up south park not down). The diff let go when the cruiser dropped off a little ledge, the pin in the diff sheared, locked up the front wheels, and turned the front drive shaft into a pretzel in rather dramatic fashion. Was able to unlock the front hubs and keep going forward. Negotiated "chicken rock" with no 4wd and luckily made it out of there.
Was sweating bullets but drove away that time... could have been a much worse situation.
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- #37
Yeah! Although I escaped unscathed, I will say that was mostly luck, not preparedness. DV on the whole was much more daunting than I expected- just the drive up was hard on the 60. 20-mile long uphills followed by miles and miles of 9% descents really challenged the cooling system and brakes. It did great, but I could see how something small could quickly turn into something big. Just the lack of cell service was disconcerting for those of us used to having it everywhere. We used Baofeng UV-5R handhelds to communicate, but sometimes the caravan got stretched out (the lead truck was a 450hp Ford Raptor) and sometime the 60 couldn't keep pace, and radio signal quickly dropped off.
The point being, at any moment I felt like DV could have decided to put an end to my little trip. Sweating bullets indeed!
The point being, at any moment I felt like DV could have decided to put an end to my little trip. Sweating bullets indeed!
$10 mag mount antennas really help with the handhelds. Transmitting in the car with the small rubber ducky antenna doesn't work well. The mag mounts on the roof make a huge difference.
lcolon
SILVER Star
Good reason to get a ham radio tech license. With 2M and a 5/8 whip, you can easily talk 50-75mi with a 50 watt car radio. There are repeaters in NV and Ridgecrest you might be able to raise someone on from a mountaintop. The ham HF radios are even better and you can talk world wide on them. I have so many contacts from the cruiser running my 100watt radio at just 50 watts. You will be able to reach someone. To give an idea of the capabilities, I talked to a guy in Japan from the Barker Ranch in DV on 50 watts on the 20m band with a hamstick antenna. There is also the sat phone route or one of those garmin inreach gadgets that have text capabilities. Or you could be nuts like me and carry them all...
It's big out there. It's tough to convey, but I recall looking down on Death Valley itself from the pass that drops down into Saline Valley, and thinking you could drop San Diego county into that valley. As your photos show, one f-up, and you're now on your own. My wife still won't forgive the trip I took her on into Saline valley back in 2005 I think, and it snowed. Wasn't quite prepared for that. And driving through the valley floor road that was now a river wasn't too fun. Thank god for the hot springs. I had a good time, but she wasn't digging the weirdo nudists. The pass out the south had over 2' of snow to plow through, and there were 4 big storms on the horizon. I tried to warn the nudists, but they were confident in their supply of hot dogs and bagels. I think that series of storms dropped like 19 feet of snow on the pass. Not sure what happened to the nudists..
